A New Life
by Nihal94
Summary: A one shot exploring one of the character after three years from the last episode.


My first story, it takes place three years after "One Perfect Day". A one shot about one of the members of the crew. I posted it over at but I've reviewed it a little.

Disclaimer: All characters you recognize are owned by McElroy Media, I just borrwed them for a while.

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><p>Three years weren't enough but, at the same time, were too much. When he received his transfer notice he wasn't as sad as he thought he'd be. There was nothing left on Hammersley worth staying for.<p>

2Dads was AWOL, but that didn't surprise him, 2Dads never liked the Navy, he liked his friends, but sticking up to rules wasn't his mantra: he fled to Singapore.

Dutchy had gone back to the gulf, again he wasn't surprised: the big boy was wasted on a patrol boat and, of course, he had noticed that he had resolved his only problem. Interacting with Kate had been his major problem he had loved her, or at least that's what he thought, and when that feeling was put behind and he faced his real trouble with her: the fear of letting her down. He was ready to go away. He stuck around because he felt that nobody other than him could safely protect her, but then he realized that this wasn't doing him any good, putting behind a feeling didn't mean that it would disappear.

Charge had found an alternative job. He left the Navy after more than twenty years of service. He was a hero, a hero who was given the chance to live his life happily ever after. He had become aware of all the years of real life left behind because of his commitment and he had finally gave up to build a life with Lani and to watch his son and his daughter a little more often, his knowledge of events led him to think that it wasn't easy for Charge to make up for lost years, but he was trying and he was Charge, everybody loved the Charge.

Bird had started her studies, he never pictured her as a Navy kind of girl, but maybe time could change things and, of course, she had the chance to work on Hammersley, she had got a strike of luck.

The CO was on shore, much to his happiness, he had never liked all the tension between him and the XO. Sometime he told himself that he should stop to call them like that, but how could he? They had been his parents, his mentors, he would never replace any of them and he was their first kid godfather. Sometime he asked himself why, but once Kate told him that she respected him and that she was sure that between her and Mike they needed some sanity to bring up their children with some common sense, obviously they were doing great, but he was thankful to the two of them for what they did for him: he never believed that anybody would accept him for how he really was. They did, and it felt great. The little boy was the person he loved more in the whole world, maybe because he felt that for the first time in years someone wasn't seeing him as a weirdo or, maybe, because the two of them looked really alike. Captain Flynn and Commander McGregor made already a great family on their own, but James Christopher Flynn was his star.

The X wasn't a X anymore, she became Lieutenant Commander shortly after the incident and throwing herself into the work like an addicted, she reached the next level in record time. Much to his disappointment they had moved to Darwin, where Mike was given the commanding role at HMAS Darwin, a good job, a good salary, a good family and a good life. He missed them all the time he set sail, Hammersley wasn't the same anymore. It all started to fade with ET's death, Nikki left soon after they captured the culprits for his death; Buff was given a chance to go on a frigate, he accepted because it could help him with his career; Spider had followed Nikki, ET was, after all, his best mate after Jaffa's death and despite the fact Nikki was much more close to Kate, Buff and Swain, he felt obliged, he had to take care of his best mate's fiancè. Then Bomber left, leaving a hole in his heart. How could he forget her, she was always on his side until… until he made the biggest mistake of his life: he scared her off. Finally the explosion that shuttered his life for good: Swain had died, one of Hammersley's backbones had been pulverized and him, the no-feeling guy, had cried for days in the loneliness of his world. He cried for Sally and Chloe and he cried because he felt that he should have died. Maybe people would have cried a bit, but he had no family and nobody liked him even remotely as they liked Swain. Kate wouldn't have cried for months, she wouldn't have felt wrong in her decisions for all this time. He wasn't a great loss.

He reopened the letter, there was written Darwin. Maybe his life could start to have a sense, maybe he could make up for lost time, he could honor Swaino with this act of love.

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><p>When he retrieved his luggage and headed to the exit of the airport he saw the dark brown hair coming towards him, a big smile plastered on a very little face.<p>

"Uncle RO! I missed you so much." RO smiled, yeah, the two years old kid was his sun.

"Yeah, me too little boy."

"Are you going to show me your bonsai?"

"When you'll come to visit me, but you have to promise not to touch it."

"I'll be very careful not to… Daddy can we go and see Robert's place now?"

"When you'll behave, maybe…" Mike locked eyes with him, "it's good to have you here RO, he missed you very much you know?" Mike ruffled his son's hairs.

"It's good to be here, boss…" he redirected his gaze towards the little boy once again, "just as much as I missed you, I hope." RO smiled, Hammersley was sunk, but in their hearts it would remain the one big family it had always been.


End file.
